


Was Always Going to Come Back

by star_of_flame_eternal



Series: Hunting at Stanford [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: BAMF Sam Winchester, Case Fic, Demons, Gen, Hurt John Winchester, Hurt Sam Winchester, Werewolves, slight John bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-07-18 22:18:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16127891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/star_of_flame_eternal/pseuds/star_of_flame_eternal
Summary: When a demon almost kills his roommate, Sam realizes that the only way he can live the safe life he wants is to continue learning about the world of monsters and be able to defend himself and others from it. So, he spends his free time researching and studying the supernatural, working out, refining his weapons skills, and picking up hunts that come by.One particular hunt forces Sam to save a man he hadn’t seen in three years.This takes place a couple months before John goes missing and Dean comes to pick Sam up from Stanford.





	1. Chapter One

Sam had been tracking the werewolf for the past two weeks. Winter break started a few days ago giving Sam the time he needed to focus fully on the hunt. Unfortunately, the creature was constantly on the move making it difficult for him to follow and take it down. He had only caught wind of it by chance on the two days it had stopped near Palo Alto. He finally managed to predict its next move and sure enough, it came. But the hunt was proving more difficult than he anticipated, even knowing how hard it was to follow. The forest was thick and tangled. Sam was hard-pressed to remain silent. Tree limbs creaked in the wind. The young hunter let himself find reassurance in the cool, familiar weight of his bolt action fully loaded with silver bullets. His eyes followed the tracks left by his quarry, all senses on high for any clues. Sam continued on. Suddenly, a resounding crack shattered the eerie calm followed by a howling scream. Kicking it into high gear, he ran in the direction of the sounds - the first of which Sam easily recognized as the report of a rifle. 

Branches whipped at Sam tearing at his clothes as upturned roots threatened to swipe his feet from underneath him. But he didn’t slow down, the thought of someone helpless before a raving werewolf pushed him forward. As he ran, he took stock of what he had on him: bolt action, Taurus, two hunting knives – all silver. He hoped the scream came from the were and not the unlucky bastard who had stumbled across the monster. But as Sam looked ahead, it seemed his prayers weren’t answered, the crumpled form of a man folded over a rifle was obvious against the surrounding forest and the werewolf nowhere in sight. Sam approached the man and tried to survey the injuries. From what he could tell, the man had his right leg clawed to the bone, shoulder torn up, and had taken a hard hit to the head that continued to bleed sluggishly. Sam took the man’s rifle – _Winchester ’88, nice model_ \- Sam thought as he rolled the man onto his back. He inhaled sharply in recognition. Despite the revelation, Sam quickly shook off his shock and went to work. He didn’t know where the werewolf had gone, and he didn’t know why it didn’t just finish the man off. But he knew he couldn’t stick around, not if he wanted this man to live. 

Sam made quick work of his shirt, tearing it into strips and binding the injuries as best he could, tying them tight in a futile attempt to stem the bleeding. He re-donned his jacket and slung the two rifles over his shoulder. He lifted the man up and started trekking back to where he left his '99 Jeep Cherokee. (It wasn't the best looking thing, a not-quite black green, but it served its purpose well.) He kept an eye and ear out for the werewolf, but it seemed as if it had run off again. Sam sighed at the thought of having to track it again, but thanked whatever deity that allowed him to make it back to the vehicle without incident. He opened the black side door and laid the man out across the back seats. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side after checking to make sure the man wasn’t going to slide around. He tossed the rifles in the passenger seat and started up the engine. Flooring the gas pedal, he turned his truck in the direction of the hospital. 

\---

It was only fifteen minutes into the drive when Sam heard the sirens. He kept driving. Five minutes later, another pair of flashing lights lit up behind him. Still he kept driving until one of the cars overtook him and forced him to stop. 

“Sir-”

“Officer, there is a man in my backseat bleeding to death, I need to get to the hospital.” Sam cut in before the police could say anything more. The officer peered in the back and saw the man sprawled across the backseats blood staining clothes and upholstery. 

“Okay, let us give you an escort.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Jimmy, we need to get these two men to the hospital! Com this to the others.” The two officers got back into their cars and sped him through the highway traffic with ease, the sirens alerting others to the emergency. 

Soon enough, they were rushed into the emergency room and the man taken immediately. The doctor and the two officers didn’t give him much time before demanding a story. So, Sam gave them one.

“I was out hunting when I heard a scream and a gunshot. I ran towards the sound and found the man being attacked by a cougar. I shot at the thing and it ran off. I tried to wrap up the guy and I hightailed it outta there.”

A passing nurse interrupted, “Another one! He’s the third guy in the past couple of months to have been attacked one of those mountain lions. Lucky guy to have someone willing to help him. The past two didn’t fare so well. Vicious beasts.”

“I’ll say, hell, thing was damn nasty. Are we done here? I need to call my folks so they know I’m okay. I should be back by now.”

“Good thing indeed. Alright son, yeah. We’re done here. Thanks for your cooperation. Next time, just pull over though. It’ll make it easier on everyone.”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I was just panicked, you know?”

“We get it. Go call your family.” The police walked out, and Sam stuck around long enough to call Jess and Brady to let them know what was going on and to show the hospital staff he was fine. Then, he left.

\---

Sam collapsed in bed. He fiddled with the drawstrings on his pajama bottoms. Now that the danger had passed, for now at least, Sam found himself thinking about the man he left at the hospital. He knew he wouldn’t like it there, but it wasn’t as if Sam could take care of that leg. He wondered where the man’s partner was but found himself unable to continue that train of thought, it being too painful to remember. He wondered if he should back off this hunt. The other hunter was certain to continue it despite having been injured. But there was something nagging at him. Something was off. While he was sure the creature was a werewolf, all the dead victim's hearts were missing, some of its behavior was distinctly changed from the usual suspect. Most prominently was the fact that it didn't stick to the cycle of the full moon. But even more, the way it never stuck to one place for too long, how it backed off weak and defenseless prey whenever Sam was around. The intelligence was uncanny. It was almost human.

\---

Two weeks later, Sam finally pinned the creature’s location down once again.

Sam was eating at the local diner when he saw the man again. The man apparently saw him as well, but Sam didn’t expect him to approach. He wondered how badly this could go.

“Sam.” The gruff, familiar voice cut through Sam’s internal analysis.

“Dad.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god, i’m so slow. Ok, so I know I rushed the ending of the first chapter, but I wanted to get the idea out there. I fell this chapter's also rushed. I might go back and fill in the blanks later. Anyway, as for this chapter, I am not really happy with it. I kept instinctually writing it in present tense like a play script because most of it is dialogue. If anyone catches anything, please let me know so I can correct any mistakes. I'm also feeling very repetitive as I write, but I’m not sure how to vary my sentences more. If anyone has suggestions, I'd be more than happy to hear them. Thx <3
> 
> None of this lore is real...I'm taking what bits and pieces I remember and doing whatever I want with it :)

“What are you doing here, Sam?” the eldest Winchester demanded flatly. 

Sam briefly wondered if he should make a smart remark about having dinner, but quickly decided he shouldn’t try to antagonize his father. Especially in their first meeting since he left for Stanford four years ago. 

“I imagine the same as you, sir.” 

“What do you mean?” John frowned. 

Sam simply raised a brow. 

“I thought you wanted a normal life.”

“Not normal, safe.” Sam sat back and sighed. He contemplated asking for another beer.

John looked at his estranged son for a moment then turned to go back to his seating. Sam watched him dispassionately, if a bit warily, and was surprised when his father only grabbed his drink and came back to Sam’s table. He sat down on the bench across from Sam. 

John took a couple sips from his glass. “They gave me your description at the hospital.”

“Oh?”

Sam’s aloofness started to make John uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat. Unimpressed, and slightly put off his dinner, Sam stood to leave but hesitated when John spoke. 

“I’d have been dead had you not been out there that night.”

Sam said, “I’m sure a ranger would’ve found you.” But he tilted his head in acknowledgement. 

John stared at Sam. “Don’t leave on my account.”

Sam huffed out a dry laugh and sat back down. “Fine.”

The two of them sat in silence for a while until John raised his hand to get the attention of one of the waiters. Sam fidgeted while they waited for someone to come over. 

“We’ll take another two beers, thanks.” 

Sam raised his head fully to look at his father. “Dad, you don’t have to-”

“They said I was the victim of the fourth cougar attack in two months.”

“Yeah. One really was a cougar. The first one. The monster used it to cover its own tracks.” 

“Right so, about this Dog…” 

The Winchesters barely acknowledged when their drinks were set in front of them. 

\---

“Your room is 109. Have a nice stay.” Sam thanked the woman at the desk and made his way to the motel room. His father’s room was across the hall from him, and he bade him goodnight before opening his own door. 

The room wasn’t as bad as it could have been. A bit grungy, but no suspicious stains. And there was no god-awful wallpaper to stare at. Sam counted that as a win. Not too bad Stardust Motel, Sam thought. He set his duffel on the bed and dug around for his toiletries bag and a spare set of clothes to sleep in. Once he found what he wanted, he crossed over into the bathroom. Stripping unhurriedly, Sam started running the shower. He set his clothes on the countertop and stepped into the stall. He sighed as the warm water flowed over him. Picking up the soap, he made quick work of washing down, then let himself just stand to soak until the water ran cold. He thought about the hunt and wondered how long he and his dad could keep from arguing. After about ten minutes, the water temperature started to turn and Sam wasted no time shutting it off not wanting to get shocked by the freezing liquid. He yanked one of the provided towels off a rack over the toilet. Wrapping it around himself, he got out of the shower and finished getting ready for bed. 

Sam tossed his duffel onto a nearby chair and pulled back the peanut butter colored comforter. Laying down, he sent a few thoughts out to the night and slipped into sleep easily too tired to let his mind dwell on the man across the hall any longer.

\---

In the morning, Sam went out and grabbed breakfast from a mini-mart not far from the motel. There wasn’t much activity going on as he walked back but he kept a watchful eye out just in case. He got back to the motel just in time to catch his dad knocking on his door. 

“Hey, Dad. Got us some food and coffee.” Sam fiddled with his keys and found the right one. Opening the door, he let his father in. He let it swing shut once he had followed John inside. The bag of food was set on the table. While Sam washed his hands, John took stock of the room and then contemplated his son in silence as they sat down to eat. 

Dean would’ve made fun of me for washing up before eating, Sam thought with a pang. He settled for simply asking, “How’s Dean?”

“Doin’ stuff on his own now,” his Dad answered as he took a bite of an egg sandwich. “He’s finishing up a hunt in Arkansas. Coupl’a wendigos in the Ozarks.” 

Silence reigned until all that was left of breakfast was the last of their coffee. Sam opened the newspaper he’d snagged from the mart and looked to see if anything was of interest. 

“There was another attack. Victim survived. They’re in the Plumas District Hospital.” 

“What’s the suspect?” John asked.

“They won’t give any official statement, but people are thinking it’s a wild animal of some sort. Seems no one can agree on what kind.”

“A Black Dog.”

“I don’t think so. The evidence points more towards a werewolf.”

“A were? Sam, it wasn’t even close to a full moon when I was attacked,” John had an unreadable expression, but Sam swore he saw disappointment among other things. 

“I know. There’s something different about this one. It doesn’t stick to the full moon, and it acts with human reasoning which should be impossible in the transformed state.”

“Human-? Sam! Do you even hear yourself?”

“Listen! I’ve been following this thing for the past four weeks. I’ve researched every possibility-” Sam cut off when his Dad scoffed. 

“Dad, please! Everything I’m finding seems to point to two different creatures, but the attacks are all connected. So, it’s either two different monsters working together, or it’s one creature that we haven’t encountered before.”

John snapped as he grabbed his jacket and stood, “Well, how ‘bout we go visit this newest victim and see what they saw."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear any comments. Just be respectful please :)

**Author's Note:**

> This will be the first in a series of short fics that take place during Sam's time at Stanford. It's a little AU-ish, but it doesn't change canon events. The only difference is that Sam continued to hunt while at Stanford.
> 
> I have everything all planned out. I just have to finish rewriting what I've got before posting the rest. 
> 
> Please comment and review. You can like it or hate it, but be respectful.


End file.
